Bipolar- is anybody REALLY successful?

Hello! I haven't been doing a very good job keeping up with my blog lately because I have been very busy!  My husband and I started a small business several years ago, and it has really taken off.  When we first started the business, I was also working a full time job and taking classes in computer programming.  I had a lot going on.   I can usually pull off three full years in a high stress job where I am expected to be on all the time. There came a point in time where I was feeling really overwhelmed, and I let go of the outside job and started focusing on our business and school.  It wasn't easy, and caused quite a bit of financial strain.

I finished the certificate in computer programming (added onto my BA degree).    The business got strong enough to provide enough income for both me and husband after I started writing custom software for home health companies.  Right now we are doing amazing!  We have actually hired our first full time employee. 

My life has not turned out how I planned. My career path has zig-zagged all over the place.  I have been a public school teacher, then a case worker, and now I am part owner of a business.  The key to my success is probably finding ways to take time off and  give myself a chance to slow down when  I need to. I know when I need some time off, and if I ignore the signs, I will have a breakdown. The longer I ignore it, the longer the breakdown.  A breakdown hurts you career much worse than a little down time or gaps in employment (in which you can creatively explain).

In the meantime, I've been getting some very interesting comments on my blog posts.  Someone questioned if I really was successful, and for a moment, I wondered that myself.  My life is sometimes a mess, but I sure have accomplished a lot!  Someone else said I was "too functional", and suggested I was not bipolar at all.  I assure you I AM!  There has been quite a debate on my topic "To have or Not Have Children."  I encourage you to read the comments on that post.  I really enjoy every comment, and I love the discussions we have.  My followers have really helped me stay strong. 

I would like to share one person's post, which I think is amazing. I call it, "What is Success?" The poster talks about everything he/she has accomplished, yet wonders if that really is success.    I think this is a very important topic and I would love to hear your stories.    
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post
 
Hi there,
 
This post and these comments are exactly what I'm struggling with at the moment. I had my dream job and then things got weird a couple years ago. I have now been diagnosed with BP1 and have been in and out of hospital (for delusions, manic behaviour, etc). I had to disclose to my boss that something was wrong because I was acting very out of character (not the way one is to speak/act around their boss). They had decided to do a performance review after a few of my outbursts but the only thing that saved me was that I'd already begun the search for a good psych who by the time I saw him immediately had me admitted to hospital. (the company couldn't fire me for needing to go to hospital)
 
I have a business degree from one of the top uni's in the country and am about to embark on an MBA. I was made redundant about a year after things got weird at my dream job which sent me into a bit of a tizz. I'm very career orientated and haven't been able to get much luck finding a job since. So I've gone back to hospitality for a while to at least get money in. I feel that if I do an MBA I can say that was why there's a gap in my CV (it is actually due to my psychiatrist telling me to not work as I was teetering upon another episode with a bunch of other major triggers happening at the same time...).
 
As far as success stories go, I think you're right, ppl are in the closet or don't know if they'd consider themselves successful. It would depend how you would define success. Like as Amy mentioned, you may find more ppl saying they've been successful at the end of their professional careers (if they chose to retire for example, rather than going off the charts and losing their jobs).
 
I went to a group for ppl with BP and met a man in his late 50s, has rapid cycling BP for about 10 years, and found out that he needed to shape his career to be in a position to be the boss. That way he was less likely to get irritable at his superiors (as he said he said he spend 70 percent of his time apologising for inappropriate behaviour spurned by his BP). I thought that was a fantastic way to manage his career around his illness, to ensure his success (he is the owner of several successful businesses).
 
I guess we've got to trust in our abilities (something i'm struggling with now that I no longer have that 'dream job' and I was diagnosed and lost the job just under a year after being diagnosed) and build a career that allows you to escape to your office if you need to use meditation techniques to distress, or work to your own hours or be autonomous or whatever it is that will less likely to trigger you.
 
Hopefully I'll be able to join you in that secret bipolar and successful club, and maybe we won't have to be so secretive about it then.
 
Best of luck.
 
Posted by Anonymous to Bipolar And Successful at March 5, 2013 at 11:46 PM